Hi,
From infancy through the stages of adolescence, the structure of our children's brains passes through a series of changes and transformations both in physical
and cognitive sections. Learning in large about your children's brain, its structure and development can help improve their learning abilities as they grow through
their age. Learning and understanding in detail about how your children's brain works and behaves will assist you in liking and appreciating what an amazing organ
like brain can do for your children! This intricate knowledge will also assist you in learning more about "learning".

Just sometime back, there was a row of TV commercial where celebrities across the country like the USA showed off their talents and skills. Later, the announcer of the
program asked the audience to repeat the same, what the celebrities just did. He also wanted to know if they were prodigies, for which the answer was a big NO. It is no
wonder that we think that our abilities are too ordinary and common. Almost also parents also think that scholastic abilities and an excellent classroom performance are
the basic indictors of intelligence and brilliance. But, latest research studies suggest that they are just the part of an overall children's brain development.

Brain based learning and development is the latest buzzword among child psychologists and academicians, who think that smartness and intelligence arise due to a number
of natural process that occur in the children's brain, right from their infant stages to adulthood. More often, parents ponder over some critical issues like several ways
through which they can develop their children's intelligence.

What does it mean to be a smart or intelligent child? Is there any definite connection between intelligence and formal education or is it possible to equate intelligence with
learning? Do we have any suggested ways and methods to improve or enhance intelligence? Experts believe that brain based education and training could be the real answer to all
serious questions. All the best!

Thought for today:
"Driving Brain Change is a Skill, Retraining the Student Brain is an Art." - Dr.Michael Merzenich

Brain Based Learning - Learning the Basics
Brain based learning seems to be a redundant term for many parents. But, this wonderful concept is considered very critical for your child's
overall brain and personal development. Here are some basic information about brain based education and learning, and how it can help you train
and educate your child to reach maximum potential.

Brain Based Learning - Some Practical Tips for Parents
Brain based education or learning is a combination of a number of naturally occurring skills and processes in a child. Brain based education also
means that you can provide and give the best possible opportunities and conditions suitable for an all-round development of brain and its perceived abilities.

>> ASK AN EXPERT

Q1: My 3 year and 1 month old son just
underwent a battery of tests to determine his eligibility to attend
a local gifted pre-school program. Could you please interpret the
results and comment on the validity of the cumulative tests and
whether you believe he is of gifted ability?

A: I am really amazed at the number of
tests your son went through for a preschool gifted education
program. In fact, at three, it is surprising that he was given the
tests since most have an age requirement of at least four years of
age (e.g, the Slosson Intelligence Test that is used for a quick
estimate of general verbal cognitive ability requires a minimum age
of 4 years)... Continue to read Dr. Sandhu's answer on
Preschool Gifted Education Program here.

Q2:
My 4year 9month old son has recently taken the TONI-3 test
administered by a professional in this area and I have been
told that he is highly gifted, with a score of >145.
However, to me, although he is rather intelligent, highly
energetic and inquisitive, he is quite hard to handle. He
loves to be read to, but is lazy to decode words. He is a
fast learner but he can't sit still for long. Teachers find
him a handful. e.g. he touches the teacher's piano while
teacher is teaching on the piano, he plays a fool in class,
hits/disturbs his friends, refuses to follow instructions.
He continues doing all these despite repeated warnings ...

A: Based on the test score alone, it
certainly places him on the gifted range, so perhaps you should
believe that you have a special child. This is good but for some
children, their giftedness also may cause other issues that make
them appear difficult to handle.

Your son is probably not getting sufficient stimulation and being a
bright, curious and highly energetic little boy, he may well be
bored. It also appears that he is doing activities that may not be
very meaningful to him, thus his boredom that leads him to be
disruptive.... Continue to read Dr. Sandhu's answer on
Above Average Abilities but Disruptive here.

Q3: My 7-year-old has been having
behavioral problems at school. My pediatrician referred him to a
behavioral pediatrician who instructed us to have the school test
him with the Multi-Factorial test to see if he had any learning
disorders...Anyways, the school did a pre-testing before they would
subject my son to the Multi-Factorial test and it included an IQ
Score:

The Thinking Child draws upon a vast wealth of research and
publications to give in-depth information about the brain
and how it functions. It addresses many issues of interest
to practitioners, such as how to maximize learning through
play, how to define 'intelligence', the current thinking
about why some children develop disorders such as ADHD, and
how to help children to develop emotional intelligence.

Alongside the theory, the book gives clear and practical
guidance for busy practitioners who want suggestions of ways
to implement brain-based techniques. Numerous practical
ideas are given to suggest where to start, whilst
'Mini-Brainy' characters illustrate key points throughout
the text.

This book is wonderful and revolutionary. Power Brain Kids is congruent with the holistic view of education--to help facilitate, support and expand
the growth of all persons in their experience of life. This book offers a child-appropriate and parent-friendly guide to Ilchi
Lee's Brain Education (BE) method. Each lesson focuses on a
particular aspect of mental ability, including
concentration, creativity, memory, and emotional control.

Power Brain Kids features colorful design and full-color
photography to help keep children interested in the twelve
lessons. A charming group of Power Brain youngsters
demonstrates correct posture for mind-body development
exercises. These brain-building exercises and games provide
hours of constructive fun for ages 6-12.

Strong fatherly involvement in their early life can also improve a child's future career prospects, the research shows. Academics at the
University of Newcastle, who carried out the study, also found that men tended to pay more attention to their sons than their daughters.
The researchers warned that it was not enough for parents to live together, but that a father should be actively involved in a child's life
to benefit their development.

Data from scientists, teachers and the real-life experience of parents provide growing evidence that physical activity influences the brain.
In laboratory studies, physical exercise in animals causes new brain cell growth and releases chemicals involved in learning. Recent exciting
studies also show that exercise causes the production of substances that protect delicate neurons from free-radicals and oxidants.

About 90 percent of a child's brain develops in that time, according to studies. And 85 percent of a child's intellect, personality and
social skills are developed by that age. It's a critical time for a child to build the foundation for literacy, which is really about
the early relationship a child develops with a parent or caregiver, said Linda Craven, the early childhood education program chairwoman
and instructor at Chemeketa Community College.

Reading to your child helps him or her develop skills for school success. In fact, research shows that children who spend time reading
with their families enter kindergarten better prepared and are more likely to do well. Because 90 percent of children's brain development
occurs during their first five years of life, reading aloud to them early on provides lifelong benefits.

Children are born ready to learn. The infant learns through each experience. Each time she is held, each time she is fed, each time
she hears your voice, and sees your facial expression, it is a learning experience. Over the last twenty years much has been reported about
young children and how they learn through brain research findings.

Gifted children whose gifts must be recognized and supported so that the whole world may benefit from the legacy they will leave in both
the arts and sciences. Children who strive to survive, who strive to find joy when their development is outside the typical, whose families
work 24/7 to give them whatever they need.

>>
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